1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image-forming apparatuses that form an image on a recording medium, for example, by electrophotography are known.
In particular, when a plurality of document images are successively copied onto recording media (recording sheets) in a small copying machine, in general, an image is formed on one side of each recording medium, and the recording medium is ejected with its image-bearing surface facing up (face-up) to an ejection tray provided on the side of the copying machine.
Such ejection in a face-up manner allows an image formed on the recording medium to be easily recognized. Moreover, since the ejecting section is not provided at the top of the copying machine, even when an image reading unit for reading document images is provided at the top, the total height of the machine can be reduced.
However, when a plurality of recording media are always printed in the original pager order and are ejected face-up, they are not finally stacked in that order on the ejection tray.
Accordingly, a copying machine has been proposed which has a reversing mechanism that allows a recording sheet to be ejected both in a face-up manner (with its image-bearing surface facing up) and in a face-down manner (with its image-bearing surface facing down) to an ejection tray provided on the side of the machine (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-221254).
In the above copying machine having the reversing mechanism, a feeding path through which a recording medium is reversed and ejected face down (hereinafter referred to as an “FD feeding path”) is longer than a feeding path through which a recording medium is ejected face up without being reversed (hereinafter referred to as an “FU feeding path”).
In the FD feeding path, the sheet-feeding direction of the recording medium must be switched to reverse the recording medium. In order to reduce the size of the machine, it is preferable that the number of feeding rollers provided in the FD feeding path to feed the recording medium be minimized.
However, when the number of feeding rollers in the FD feeding path is reduced, a recording medium having a length smaller than the distance between the feeding rollers may be jammed because it cannot be properly transferred between the feeding rollers.
Feeding members that constitute each feeding roller may be arranged with an interval W therebetween, as shown in FIG. 10, in order to reduce the cost (since the feeding members are not provided in the gap W, the cost is low). When such a feeding roller is used, the interval between the feeding members needs to be long to some extent in order to enhance the feeding ability for the recording medium. In this case, when the size (width) of a supplied recording sheet in the direction orthogonal to the sheet-feeding direction) is shorter than the interval W between the feeding members, the recording sheet cannot be properly conveyed, and paper jamming may occur.